Building a Stronger Community
I started volunteering during my teenage years at a horse barn that provided Hippotherapy to people with disabilities, and I loved my time there. While I enjoyed my experience, it wasn’t until college that I discovered my passion for long-term volunteering through spring break immersion programs. Initially, I signed up to make friends, but I unexpectedly fell in love with the experience. During my three service programs, we supported rural communities that lacked resources and money by immersing ourselves with the residents to learn from them and partner to find sustainable ways to help. These trips not only taught me about different cultures but also allowed me to make a tangible impact through projects like beautifying communities in rural Virginia and volunteering in Nicaragua. It was truly rewarding, and I'll never forget those experiences.
After college, I joined AmeriCorps, the US federal agency for national service and volunteerism. I served as a Team Leader based in Denver for two years, helping communities prepare for and recover from disasters. Despite the challenges, the impact as an AmeriCorps member was worth every moment and was one of the best times of my life.
Now, working full-time allows less time to volunteer but I continue to look for opportunities. Currently, I serve on the Young Professional board of Boys Hope Girls Hope Colorado; this organization nurtures and guides motivated young people in need to become well-educated, career-ready men and women for others. I am also a member of the Junior League of Denver, a women’s training organization that develops civic leaders committed to improving our community. We are currently working to disrupt the cycle of systemic poverty for women and families in Denver.
Besides personal fulfillment, I’ve gained invaluable leadership skills that serve me professionally. This journey started in high school and will always be a part of my life.
Aligning Values with Action
As a Volunteer Ambassador at Contentful, my goal is to build a stronger community within our organization, especially for our distributed employees, and use our employees’ time and skills to give back to others. Over the past few years, our distributed team has grown significantly so we have a big opportunity to make a real impact.
Contentful places great emphasis on our four core values and their alignment with the community to the point where questions often arise in department or company-wide meetings regarding the customers we serve and our hiring practices. Therefore, when engaging with the community as a company, it's essential to ensure that our efforts align with our values. For example, it would make sense for us to support initiatives encouraging STEM education for children or underrepresented individuals, as our company and employees can provide valuable guidance in this field. When seeking organizations to support, I’ve prioritized opportunities that resonate with our values and the causes we care about at Contentful.
We highly value our customers, and part of supporting them involves supporting their communities and ensuring they have an environment in which they can thrive.?
From Cards to Connections Across Borders
Donating money can sometimes feel impersonal and uncertain. One of my biggest challenges is finding non-monetary opportunities for our team. Nonprofits, especially those with a high need, had to adapt quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic, but many lacked sufficient resources to maintain virtual programs. While searching for opportunities for our distributed team, I discovered retired organizations that couldn't sustain remote involvement.
Our international team presents an interesting challenge, as web search algorithms often only present results within my country, making it tough to find organizations for all our distributed employees. However, my main focus is to find tangible ways for people to contribute without spending money, fostering a sense of togetherness and creating connections, so I've had to be creative.? Our workplace team organizes monthly "crafternoon" events, where we engage in different crafts so another Volunteer Ambassador suggested partnering with the workplace team to combine volunteering with crafternoon. I found organizations that accept cards for individuals in various situations, such as overseas military members, elderly individuals at home or in nursing homes, and chronically ill children in hospitals worldwide. Our first offering is making cards for some of these organizations so our distributed employees can contribute collaboratively to their communities.
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Prioritizing Connection in a Digital Era
Many remote volunteering opportunities provide a list of projects individuals can do independently with little communal interaction. I am determined to change that for our distributed employees by creating a sense of community and fostering personal connections.
Of course, there are many ways to meet people, but I’ve personally found that the connections made through volunteering are different from the usual kind. In a volunteer setting, it's completely normal to ask why someone is there, and you can learn so much from others' experiences that you've never had. You expand your personal and professional network by being open to different backgrounds and motivations. I firmly believe that the more people you know with diverse experiences, the more fulfilling life becomes. You find yourself doing things you never imagined and learning about new lifestyles.
Keeping conversations surface-level or related only to the current situation can be comfortable in a purely social situation. However, volunteer settings often feel more natural to discuss how our actions will impact the future or the reasons behind our presence and foster special connections.
Some of my favorite Non-Profit organizations
If you are a non-profit organization with virtual volunteer opportunities for US and European-based volunteers, please contact me, Dani O’Connor.
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